Scaramouche (Sibelius)

Scaramouche, Op. 71, is a tragic ballet-pantomime in two acts—comprising 21 scenes—written from 1912 to 1913 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The project, which was a collaboration with the Danish playwright Poul Knudsen, caused Sibelius great anguish—primarily because he had not understood that, when signing the commissioning contract, he was committing himself to the composition of an hour-long, full-length score. Scaramouche premiered in Copenhagen on 12 May 1922 at the Royal Danish Theatre with Georg Høeberg conducting the Royal Danish Orchestra and Johannes Poulsen originating the title role; Sibelius was not in attendance. Despite the quality of its musical material—critics at the premiere, for example, praised Sibelius's nuanced score for its sense of drama, noting that "it bears the imprint of genius"—the piece, due to the weakness of Knudsen's scenario, never established itself in the repertory and modern performances are rare.